Liver disease (hepatitis, cirrhosis) decisions — 2006

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to deficiencies in the VCAA notice provided.

The Board denied service connection for PTSD and hepatitis C, but granted service connection for diabetes mellitus with a 20 percent disability rating effective May 8, 2002.

The veteran's appeal for service connection for PTSD and hepatitis C has been dismissed due to the death of the veteran.

The Board has denied the veteran's claims of service connection for PTSD and hepatitis C, to include as due to herbicide exposure. The veteran's hepatitis C was not related to active military service, while his PTSD claim is remanded for further clarification.

The Board finds that the veteran's death was not caused by or substantially or materially contributed to by a disability incurred in or aggravated by his active duty service, including his service-connected PTSD.

The Board has granted service connection for hepatitis C with hiatal hernia and assigned a 30 percent evaluation. The effective date of the award is not addressed, as it was prior to June 17, 1997. The combined rating remains at 40 percent from June 17, 1997, through September 13, 1998, and at 50 percent thereafter.

The Board found no evidence of a link between the claimed conditions and service, thus denying all claims for service connection.

The veteran's dyshidrotic dermatitis of the right hand does not meet the criteria for a compensable rating.,Service connection is granted for PTSD based on confirmed in-service stressors.

The Board has remanded the case due to the need for a VA medical opinion regarding the etiology of the appellant's hepatitis C and whether it is related to his military service.

The Board found that the veteran's hepatitis C was not incurred in or aggravated by active service and denied his claim for service connection.

The veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions, including a scar on the back of his left leg, hepatitis, hearing loss, poor blood circulation, night sweats, and fatigue, were all granted. The effective date is not specified.

The Board found that the veteran's hepatitis C was likely due to his own willful misconduct, specifically IV drug abuse during service. Therefore, it denied the claim for service connection.

The Board has determined that there is no competent evidence of hepatitis C which is the result of a disease or injury incurred in service, and thus denied the veteran's claim for service connection.

The VA denied an increased rating for hepatitis C, currently evaluated as 10 percent disabling.

The Board has denied the veteran's claim for service connection for hepatitis C, finding that there is no evidence to support a link between his military service and the condition.

The veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining Social Security Administration records and medical records from providers who treated him. The claims for non-service connected pension benefits, hepatitis C service connection, chronic fatigue syndrome service connection, depression service connection, and post-traumatic brain syndrome service connection are also being reviewed.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the service connection for liver cancer, secondary to alcohol abuse and PTSD. The VA needs to obtain all relevant medical records and provide a psychiatric opinion on whether alcohol abuse was caused by service-connected PTSD.

The veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 for contracting hepatitis C due to VA surgery in January 1988 is denied as there is no evidence of a transfusion and the causation element is not met.

The veteran's claims for an initial compensable disability rating for mild gastritis and duodenitis, as well as his claim of service connection for hepatitis C, were denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of chronic gastritis with small nodular lesions or symptoms, and there was no current evidence of significant improvement in his condition. For hepatitis C, the veteran's claim was also denied because there is no evidence to suggest it was incurred during service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's death was not caused by his service-connected disabilities and therefore, denied both the claim for service connection for cause of death and the DIC benefits claim. The Board found no direct relationship between the veteran's heart conditions and hypertension with his demise.